'One Tree Hill' flashes forward in January

Posted: Saturday, November 24, 2007

"One Tree Hill" has only been away for a few months, but it'll feel like years when the formerly high school soap returns in January.

The fifth season of "One Tree Hill" will premiere Jan. 8 with a two-hour episode that establishes the show's revamped format. "OTH" will settle into the Tuesday, 9 p.m. time slot the next week, airing after encores of "Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants."

As a result, The CW has opted not to air repeats of "Reaper," though the freshman dramedy will return with original episodes later in the season.

"One Tree Hill" concluded its fourth season in June with the core group of characters on the brink of leaving Tree Hill and heading off for the summer before college. As was previously announ-ced, the fifth season will kick off four years later, allowing creator Mark Schwahn and his team of producers to skip over the fact that most of the cast looks too old to be starting university.